House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Ways & Means Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) subpoenaed four federal agents this week in their probe into IRS whistleblower allegations of corruption in the criminal investigation into President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
The four federal agents allegedly were “present at” or have “direct knowledge” of a meeting in October of last year where one of the IRS whistleblowers says that Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss — who was recently appointed special counsel in the case — did not have the final say on whether to bring charges against Hunter Biden outside of his district. Weiss and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland have disputed those claims.
The individuals subpoenaed include Michael T. Batdorf, IRS director of field operations; Darrell J. Waldon, IRS special agent in charge; Thomas J. Sobocinski, FBI special agent in charge; and Ryeshia Holley, FBI assistant special agent in charge.
The New York Times reported over the weekend that Weiss, before he was appointed as special counsel in the case, was originally willing to “to forgo any prosecution of” Hunter Biden and was close “to agreeing to end the investigation without requiring a guilty plea on any charges.”
Weiss’ position on the matter reportedly changed right around the time that two IRS agents came forward as whistleblowers and alleged that they had been stymied from pushing the Biden probe further due to pressure from higher-ups at the Department of Justice.
After the two whistleblowers came forward, Weiss demanded that Hunter Biden plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax crimes and enter a deferred prosecution agreement on a gun charge.
Jordan and Smith questioned the timing and the decision to name Weiss as special counsel in the case after he was the one who originally signed off on the plea deal that was blown up in federal court.
“The timing of this decision also comes after whistleblowers have raised serious and unchallenged allegations of impropriety in the Department’s investigation,” they wrote. “The decision to grant Weiss special counsel status, especially in light of his handling of the case to date and his inconsistent statements to Congress about his authority, raises serious questions about the Department’s handling of this investigation, and reinforces the Committee’s need to speak with individuals with knowledge of the investigation.”